Thirst

by Tapley, Travis

  “Then I guess the decision is made.” Summer said as matter of fact as she could. I cannot walk this earth with no hope. I cannot raise my children that way. My choice at an eternity is to let you sink your teeth in to me and give me what you know. I want to see the light. I want to see what there is on the other side should I ever die instead of nothing in this life I now have.”

  .

  Chapter 13

  “Going Back to Rome”

  “Then it is settled. But until I can get back, you must stay here. Do not leave this house. Can you do that? I beg of you, do not leave. They know nothing of you, but I can’t take the chance on something, anything happening.” Seneca told her with a fire in his eyes that she had never seen, and she knew it meant business. “What do you mean until you get back? Where are you going and for how long?” She asked. “I must travel to Rome and the Vatican. There is something there waiting for me, it has been there for me for a very long time.” He answered. “Now promise me you will stay here. Do whatever you must inside this house, but do not under any circumstances leave it.”

  “Fucking shit, Seneca. What the hell is in Rome? I know, I know, you can’t fucking tell me. God damn, oops, forgive me God, oh wait, you don’t exist until I become a Vampire!” She was upset again. “I’m sorry Summer, you have always trusted me, please trust me one more time. I cannot tell even you this time what I am going for, but it will be for a short period. I will be back as soon as I can, I have to do this alone, it is quicker by myself.” He kissed her lips and then left her standing there with another mystery on her mind.

  Lilith was in a fit of rage. She was in a state of controlled anger. But it was bubbling, it was a fiery volcano waiting to erupt, and it was going to spew its hot lava all over Michael, when and if she found him. His actions had cost her a hot meal, and now she sat in this Waffle House with this derelict that she was trying to play nice with. She had told him to order whatever he wanted, this night was on her. She was then going to find him a nice hotel room, get him cleaned up, and pay for his room for a month. The bum felt like her had won the lottery. It had been a long time since anyone had shown him any true kindness. Most people on the streets just ignored him and some were kind enough to drop a quarter or two into his cup. He wasn’t like those that hung out on the corners and scammed the people, he had lost everything in 2007 after the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina when the economy went to hell, wife was gone, kids, home, everything. His children turned their backs on him, and he had been roaming the streets ever since. There was no family to turn too, he was on his own. Where had this beautiful creature come from to show him such kindness? She must be a gift from God. He had ordered enough food to make sure he had some to take back to his room with him. He didn’t want to take advantage of this amazing woman's kindness, but this was a treat and a luxury he had not seen in almost 7 years. He chuckled at himself, since when did he ever dream he would see the day that the Awful Waffle would be a delicacy! The way she looked and was dressed, he figured she could afford a lot more than what he had purchased.

  She had taken him to the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street. At two hundred and forty nine dollars a night she was spending a small fortune for a thirty day stay. She thought the night manager and the bum were going to pass out when she requested a room for 30 days. It came to seven thousand four hundred and seventy dollars, before taxes. She didn’t think there would be a room available and she was going to have to search to find one. Luckily there had been a cancellation, and they had walked in just in time. She was in all her deceiving glory, and even though her mind was boiling over at Micheal, this little “fool the bum “game she was playing was giving her great pleasure. In some ways, she was almost looking forward to seeing how this drunk cleaned up. She would give him the most devilish fucking of his life and then feed her hunger. Maybe he would be lucky and she would leave him be, or maybe not. There were always desolate humans on the streets, maybe she would let this one go. But then again, it was so unlike her.

  He went into the bathroom, shut the door and started to get undressed. A shower, a real shower, how long had it been since he felt one of those. Too long he thought. He turned on the water and let it get nice and hot, he stepped into its warmth and grabbed the soap and started lathering his body. He was in heaven and did not even think about how this night could get any better. He really expected this lady to be gone when he finished and he did not even know her name. In all his shock at someone being kind to him, all he had thought about was making sure he had thanked her profusely for her generosity to him. He was quite stunned when he came out of the bathroom and found her sitting on the side of the bed totally in the nude. Her plump firm breasts causing a stir in his groins and an instant erection. He had not experienced that in years. She smiled at his manhood, and asked in her sexiest voice, if he liked what he saw. “Well, mam, I don’t even know what to say. I, I, I, thought you would be gone.” He managed to stammer. “I really don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness, but I thank you, and you really don’t have to stay.”

  “Oh, but I dooooo.” She purred like a kitten when you rubbed its back. “I have something to give you and you will never forget it. When this night is over and I am done with you, all the bad things you have had happen to you will be forgotten. Everything you lost from that hurricane, all of it will seem so far away. You deserve a night of pleasure and if not you then who? You just happened to come along at the right time, or it would have been another. Maybe I will give you some spending money and you can take care of yourself and we will get you some new clothes. I might even come back to see you tomorrow night too.” The question remained to be answered as if he had came along at the right time. He had no idea what this night held for him, no idea if she was real, all of this real or if he were dreaming and would wake up on a park bench somewhere covered in day old newspaper. Would this be the luckiest night of his life or an ending to what had become a very miserable existence?

  Seneca had reached Louis Armstrong airport at five minutes after midnight, what a fucking day this had been so far. He would fly out of New Orleans to Atlanta, and then to Rome, Italy. It was time to see the Fathers and to sort out the next chapter in what could finally be the ending to this centuries old fight between good and evil. Too bad the human race had never realized it was not about them. They had been placed here for a reason they never fully understood to begin with. That should have told them something of their being. But sometimes it was hard to see the truth that lay right before your eyes if you really never knew what the truth was to begin with. And as it always seemed to be in these moments of thought and existence, the words of Pilate danced once again in his head...”What is truth?” It seemed the only truth he knew was a lie from the human standpoint. It seemed a shame to him that in the outcome of this battle, there was no hope or future for the human race. If they managed to survive the outcome, they would simply continue to do as they had always done, be born, live and die. Nothing more, nothing less.

  The Fathers knew he was coming. They had called a special meeting to prepare for his arrival. This had been a long anticipated day. They had never known when this time would come, all they knew was when he called, it would be for this reason. They had held onto these secrets since the beginning. They had laughed at the movies that had given conspiracy theories about what was and existed in the Vatican. If only the world knew that the greatest secret of all resided there. The books would be the gauntlet thrown down so to speak. Caelina had had them written and they had been brought here by her and remained in their custody ever since. Seneca was the only one that had permission to read them, to take them and study and explore what they had to say. Even he did not know all, he knew of her writings and thought he possessed the true books he needed, he knew he was coming for more, but was unsure of exactly what they consisted of.

  His coffin had been placed inside the crate, and sealed shut. He had prepared well for this journey. He could no longer stand the fact of Lilith contro
lling every aspect of his life. He no longer cared if this battle was won or lost. He was simply tired of it all and it had gotten the best of him at the parade. The two pints of blood would suffice until he was in Rome and out of the path of Lilith’s wrath. What could he accomplish that would make it all go away? Did he want to be in her good graces or was he really finished as he thought he was. He would go before the Dark Council and ask forgiveness. Not that he really needed it. He was growing tired of Marius too. He wanted out from under it all, wanted to be his own man whatever in fuck that meant. Was there even such a thing as someone being their own man? Even the humans had to bow down before a God they knew nothing about except what they read from a book of supposedly truths. He hated that book and everything it stood for. What kind of God sent his only son to this fucking planet to die for the measly humans? What were they to him and why were they so important to God? They possessed no powers, no strengths, except the ability to give up their lives for for a faith they had never seen and a man that had not been around in two thousand years. It was one hell of a crazy story. He had thought enough about it all, it was time to drink, sleep and awaken to another place and a new beginning.

  What was going on inside his mind? He could sense Michael, but he should be with Lilith. Had he finally made her mad enough that he had to be fleeing from her and going into hiding? Or was she somewhere close behind with both of them putting the nights happenings behind them to face him at the worst possible time? He had one goal and only one at this time, to get to the Vatican as soon as possible and start reading those books. Somewhere inside one of them was the secret to ending this now and for good.

  Chapter 14

  “Apocalyptic Words”

  Lilith’s anger was beyond rage. Michael was nowhere to be found. He had never just left like this. It had been two days since she had seen or heard from him. Even the Council had no idea of where he could be. It seemed he had blocked them all. She vowed that there would be hell to pay when he showed back up or if she found him. This might be the time to finish this battle alone. She was tired of his foolishness. She had forgotten about the man she had graciously left at the hotel. He was to be a month long tease for her, now she no longer cared. If she could have felt such a thing as blood pressure rising, hers would have been off the charts. She knew the sun was going down and she would change courses for tonight. She would fly over Lake Ponchartrain feast on the Northshore. She had gotten a kick out of the local news coverage of what had happened at the parade. Some it seemed were in fear for they were sure it was a vampire in their midst, but others felt it was a trick, some kind of new flying suit and a stunt pulled to make the parade more exciting. It didn’t help in some peoples minds to deal with what they had seen with all the killings around the city.

  She decided her anger tonight would be handled in a more controlled way than what that fool Michael had displayed. She would wonder around in the mall taking on the persona of a normal lady and not bring any attention to herself. She would pick out her victim and follow them home. She didn’t want the homeless or wretched she normally drew her meals from, tonight she wanted something different. Even though she tried her best to not stand out, she still got looks. There was no way around it no matter how disheveled she tried to look, her beauty always shined. She wished she could hide it as well as she could her evil ways. At least until she let it out. She was trying her best to focus on a meal, but Michael kept coming into her mind. He was going to pay, oh how he was going to pay.

  She heard the old man say to the woman who was busy with two children, “I wonder how Seneca and Summer are enjoying their trip?” She felt her eyes get wide, she felt excitement in her blood. Did that old man just say Seneca? Couldn’t be, no way. But how many men had she ever known named Seneca? It was not a common name at all. Had she just stumbled upon some accidental help in her goal? She took a seat on a mall bench and tuned out all others and focused only on the conversation between the man and woman. She wondered even more who the two children belonged to? And who was this Seneca.

  “Honey you know they are,” the woman answered. “I’m just glad we are getting to watch the kids. Summer is probably babbling on and on about vampires, I don’t know where we went wrong with her.”

  Lilith felt her eyes widen again. This was no coincidence. So, Seneca had a wife and children, she could feel every ounce of hatred for him inside of her. Who was he to have children and the one thing she wanted to complete her rule, she could not have. If only she could get his blood. But if she couldn’t get the blood from his veins, then tonight she would get the next best thing. She would take from him what she could never have.

  Lilith followed the car back to Cross Gates Boulevard and into Willow Wood subdivision. She landed with no sound in the shadows of a tall pine and watched as the man and woman took the children inside. She knew their names were Adam and Kelsey. Did she want them both or just one? Would she kill the parents of the one named Summer or leave them helpless? So many cruel decisions to make, but she would pick the ones to start this battle. She would pick the ones that played to her advantage the best.

  Summer sat and thought. She wanted to talk to the kids, but she had thought it best not to call, if this creature Lilith had the powers Seneca said, then she would do as he asked her and sit her and not leave until he got back. No calls, nothing. She did not want to put her children nor her parents as stubborn as they were in any danger. Had she made the right decision? How could it be wrong? She was about to receive immortality. She had thought long about everything and she knew a man that had been around as long as Seneca had seen a lot, been through a lot and she had been a little foolish in being so angry. She knew deep inside her still human heart that she loved him and he loved her. If he felt she was the one and the strongest one out of all mortal women she should be flattered.

  Lilith waited on the family to get inside. She watched the light come on in what she hoped would be the children’s bedroom. She dropped from the tree and moved undetected to the window. She had been correct. Both of the children were in the room in separate beds and the old woman was headed toward the door to turn out the light and leave them. Lilith waited on the woman to be gone and to give the children time to go to sleep before she entered the room. With a pass of her hands over the children’s faces she had placed them in a sleep from which they would not awake until she wished them to do so.

  Moving around in the house without making a sound was easy for her. Before they knew what had happened she was standing in front of the older couple in their living room. They were startled at how fast she appeared. “Who are you and what are you doing in our home? The man stammered. “Get out now or I will call the police!” Lilith found his gesture to be quite amusing. The man then reached beside his chair and raised a pistol. “I said get out!” aiming the gun at Lilith. She laughed at him and the woman was speechless. She saw a Bible on the little table between them and took the chance to tell them, “So, I see you have a Bible there. I assume you believe in God. If you do as I say you will not get the chance to meet him tonight!” The man raised the pistol and declared “I will shoot you, I’m not kidding!” With a motion of her hand the gun flew from his hand and bounced of the wall beside him.

  “Listen old man and listen good. I normally do not spare lives. I love to see blood shed. Do you believe in Vampires?”

  “No, there is no such thing. I am a man of God and by his hand all things were made, but nothing as vile as a vampire.”

  She could read his thought, there were of fear and this woman Summer, she was his daughter, and she had a love for all things Vampire. Ah, so this is why Seneca had chosen her to be his mate. She loved the Vampire, “Well, Mr. Man of God, I am what you think does not exist. Do you believe in Jewish mythology? I am the darkest of dark, that old demon Satan. Yes, here before you in the, uh, somewhat flesh, hahahahaha. I am Lilith. The first of Adam.”

  “Liar” the old man shouted and jumped from his chair. Without an effort she wa
ved her hand and he was back sitting. “I’m not playing here old man, if you want to live to see another day, you will follow my instructions to a tee. You will do as I say and if you decide to call the police, then I assure you, all hell shall break lose.”

  “Why us? What do you want?” There was a fear in Summer’s Father’s voice. A fear she would be shocked to here from the man that she thought was the most bull headed and yet bravest she had ever known.

  “I want Seneca. I want your daughter, Summer. Why you might ask? It is nothing with your daughter, but it is personal with Seneca and I. We have been fighting this battle for 2,000 years. Yes, since the days of your Jesus. I am safe in my assumption that Seneca will do anything for his wife and children.”

  “You are not a vampire, they do not exist” The woman managed to say after being silent the whole time.

  “Oh, but I am.” Lilith said with an evil grin,”And I am so much more than a vampire. And so is your son-in-law. Why do you think Summer was so attracted to him, why do you think he has not aged in the ten years you have known him? But it is not him you should ever have to fear. It is I. I am the apocalypse and I shall bring more hell down on this earth that it has ever known.” She moved behind the Summer’s mom. The older woman could feel the cold breath on her neck. “Would you like to feel the bite me? Would you like to see the blood of your wife entering into my veins?” The old man was starting to cry, he was for once in his life scared beyond words. “What do you want from us?” He asked. “I will do whatever you desire, just let her live.”